Kristers Gudlevskis allowed 1 goal on 28 shots for the victory. He's won 5 straight starts and put together 4 straight quality starts in the process. His save percentage has steadily risen to .904 and he's building up confidence necessary for a solid playoff run.

Jonathan Marchessault, Justin Courtnall, and Gudlevskis were the game's three stars. Marchessault is currently tied for 6th in the league in scoring. Courtnall's got 5 points and a +5 rating in 7 games since joining the Crunch. At this rate, maybe the Lightning should've signed him the first run through the organization?

It's been a long road, but Syracuse has closed back within 1 point of Hershey for the 2nd seed in the conference. For the longest time, they looked to be locked into the 3 seed, but they're playing themselves into a spot to challenge for better position.

Justin Courtnall continues to look like another Julien BriseBois trash to treasure conversion.

Things get interesting in the next couple of weeks for Syracuse as the amateur ranks yield some ATO opportunities for the Lightning organization. Specifically, Brayden Point could be a prime addition on an ATO for the Crunch, and an early exit from the NCAA tournament could put Matthew Peca in a Crunch jersey very soon, too. Both would be nice additions to a Crunch team in need of more speed and skill, especially up the middle.

BoltProspects has confirmed that Tampa Bay no longer retains the rights to prospect forward Justin Courtnall, the Lightning's last pick in the 7th round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Courtnall was drafted out of BCHL Victoria and normally would have to be signed two years after his draft date, but it was thought that the Lightning would retain his rights while Courtnall continues his hockey development at Boston University. It's unclear at the time of this report why the Lightning do not retain Courtnall's rights, but it is speculated that perhaps Courtnall is not attending BU on a scholarship and perhaps that is the reason why Tampa cannot retain his rights without a contract. BoltProspects will update this story as more information is revealed.

UPDATE: The loss of Courtnall's rights had nothing to do with whether or not he is on scholarship at BU, but solely because he was not already in an NCAA program when the deadline to sign 2007 draft picks passed.